I purchased the Debaufre Nav B and the C Sar from Debaufre a number of years ago.
Steinhart sells what looks like the same timepieces with different markings. Were these companies related.
Here is the Debaufe Nav B I own.

To the best of my knowledge - Steinhart USA was sued by Steinhausen because the names were too similar. Steinhart USA - again as I recall was a small company and could not afford to respond with a counter-suit or legal action.

It was cheaper to change the name than to battle the legal action. Essentially the watches were the same models - renamed to avoid the wrath of Steinhausen. I've gone out of my way NOT to purchase anything from Steinhausen.

My Ocean1 GMT and Mach1 are still in my collection. I was able to purchase an Ocean1 GMT specially made for the 113th Fighter Squadron "Indiana Racers" Indiana Air National Guard.
curleyf16 a BDWF member and a LTC of the unit had one surplus which I eagerly purchased.

Steinhart occupies a very competitive portion of the market "affordable Swiss" which has been squeezed over the years by a weak dollar and Swiss industry price increases. Eventually - after about 18-24 months or so - DeBaufre ceased operations here in the USA. Some good folks who sold a excellent product at value prices-lost their business. Their 'scratch & ding sales - advertised here over the years gave us great value for what were essentially display items that showed no damage I could see.

IF anyone has more detailed info - please take the time to post it here!

I bought two Debafres when they offered them on scratch and dent sale quite a few years ago. Both of the timepieces were flawless when I got them. I never saw a scratch or dent.
When I bought the Nav B they were selling a diamond cut crown for the watch. I paid the extra to have them install it before shipping. It made the watch look great.
I picked up the Csar at the same time. I am not sure what the name stands for. It is a great looking timepiece are both are still running great and are in my normal rotation.
Deabaufre. Nav B
Unitas 6497-2 Swiss made hand-wind movement with 17 jewels.
44mm Case diameter
Sapphire crystal on the front with AR coating.
Exhibition case back window (mineral glass).
Diamond cut crown
Super Luminova on hour and minute hand.

Debaufre CSar
44-mm Size
Domed sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating
Exhibition case back window (mineral glass)
ETA Unitas 6498-2 Swiss made hand-wind movement with 17 jewels
Blue Super Luminova advanced system.
Business is business and companies come and go. It is a shame when things run that course.
I have been watching the exchange rates for the euro to USD and it is a good time to make purchases with the strong dollar. I just pulled the trigger on the Steinhart Ocean 1 with ceramic bezel. The cost of the timepiece with shipping was $390.00USD.

I bought two Debafres when they offered them on scratch and dent sale quite a few years ago. Both of the timepieces were flawless when I got them. I never saw a scratch or dent.
When I bought the Nav B they were selling a diamond cut crown for the watch. I paid the extra to have them install it before shipping. It made the watch look great.
I picked up the Csar at the same time. I am not sure what the name stands for. It is a great looking timepiece are both are still running great and are in my normal rotation.
Deabaufre. Nav B
Unitas 6497-2 Swiss made hand-wind movement with 17 jewels.
44mm Case diameter
Sapphire crystal on the front with AR coating.
Exhibition case back window (mineral glass).
Diamond cut crown
Super Luminova on hour and minute hand.

Debaufre CSar
44-mm Size
Domed sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating
Exhibition case back window (mineral glass)
ETA Unitas 6498-2 Swiss made hand-wind movement with 17 jewels
Blue Super Luminova advanced system.
Business is business and companies come and go. It is a shame when things run that course.
I have been watching the exchange rates for the euro to USD and it is a good time to make purchases with the strong dollar. I just pulled the trigger on the Steinhart Ocean 1 with ceramic bezel. The cost of the timepiece with shipping was $390.00USD.

Indeed - my 2 GMTs were moved by an ETA 2893-2 and my Mach1 with a green timing hand was an ETA2824-2 with a tach module DD2020 nesting on top of it. Very thick timepiece ...

Mikie has it right. Debaufre used to be Steinhart, but due to a legal issue from another company that apparently thought it was infrigning on its copyrighted name, wanted to sue Steinhart in the US. Steinhart USA took the highroad and changed its name to Debaufre. Oddly enough, Steinhart is still being used in Europe. They are a German company, but the watches are Swiss Made as can be seen in the photos. I used to have 2 Debaufre Ocean 1's a GMT Pepsi and an Airforce white which I flipped. Also had a Steinhart Ocean 1 which was flipped. Yes, the dollar is strong against the euro and we don't have to pay the VAT tax, so I recently added a Ocean 1 GMT Pepsi and Ocean 1 Vintage Red from Germany.

__________________
George
"As far as watches go, buy what you like and can afford"

The Débaufré brand was/is a kind of sister brand of Steinhart watches. The quality of built was/is identical.

Steinhart was forced by its former US-distributor to re-name the watches they sold in the US when they had split company. It transpired that the brand name Steinhart was registered in the name of their US distributor.

The name Débaufré refers to two French watch maker brothers named Pierre and Thomas Débaufré. They had invented in 1704 a process to drill holes in rubies with the utmost precision. The Débaufré brothers were awarded a patent with their co-inventor Nicolas Fatio. Fatio hailed from the same region the Débaufré brothers and all three of them were working and living in London under the same roof when they invented the process. It was their precision drilling that allowed for proper bushing of gears in watches in larger numbers for the first time.

Seems as if Steinhart had chosen the name Débaufré deliberately. Pronouncing it in French sounds in some dialects as if one were saying 'du beau-frère' which is French for the 'from the brother-in-law'.

Nice twist on a messy situation by a Germany based brand, indeed.

__________________
With a heartfelt 'And Times Doesn't Go Simply By'
from Switzerland's watch making region the famous Jura Mountains range

The Débaufré brand was/is a kind of sister brand of Steinhart watches. The quality of built was/is identical.

Steinhart was forced by its former US-distributor to re-name the watches they sold in the US when they had split company. It transpired that the brand name Steinhart was registered in the name of their US distributor.

The name Débaufré refers to two French watch maker brothers named Pierre and Thomas Débaufré. They had invented in 1704 a process to drill holes in rubies with the utmost precision. The Débaufré brothers were awarded a patent with their co-inventor Nicolas Fatio. Fatio hailed from the same region the Débaufré brothers and all three of them were working and living in London under the same roof when they invented the process. It was their precision drilling that allowed for proper bushing of gears in watches in larger numbers for the first time.

Seems as if Steinhart had chosen the name Débaufré deliberately. Pronouncing it in French sounds in some dialects as if one were saying 'du beau-frère' which is French for the 'from the brother-in-law'.

Nice twist on a messy situation by a Germany based brand, indeed.

Gosh darn it, James, there ain't nothing that you don't know!

__________________I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain...

To my knowledge the watch brand Steinhart is considerably older than the Steinhausen brand. Initially, Steinhart watches were imported by Carlsbad International for distribution in the USA.

When Steinhart set out on their own, Carlsbad seemed to have objected to Steinhart distributing their watches under the Steinhart brand. Carlsbad International had already registered in 2002 the similar sounding name of Steinhausen as well as Steinhart.

Steinhart then had to adopt the name of Débaufré for its watches distributed in the USA. Seems as if to add insult to injury, Carlsbad pushed its Steinhausen brand and did not make genuine use of Steinhart as a brand.

By the way, the brand name Débaufré is no longer trademark protected in the USA either. The brand owners Messrs. Steinhart LLC seem to have chosen not to renew the protection when it expired in 2014.

Steinhart watches are made by the Switzerland based company Palladium AG from Lyss. Lyss is a suburb of Bienne. The company is well-known in the world of private label and watch assembly. It is owned by Frank Ansorg and his partners. Mr. Ansorg has been in the watch industry for quite some time. They serve many different brands with their services.

__________________
With a heartfelt 'And Times Doesn't Go Simply By'
from Switzerland's watch making region the famous Jura Mountains range

The market for 'affordable' Swiss watches is a minefield economically - as Chinese/Japanese brands improve in quality and their marketing slowly increases their market share.

Add currency, trade wars and labor costs - not a business to be in stress free ...

My US purchased Steinharts remain many of my favorites: solidly built, well designed and nicely finished for the price. My preference was they remained with a US distributor - but - the 'free market' makes the determination.

__________________
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
- George Orwell